God is One, indivisible, immutable, indestructible, eternally existent, eternally conscious, eternally blissful Being (Reality). That Supreme Being (Ultimate Reality) is called SatChitAnand.
God is One, and gods are none. There are no such things as gods and demigods. There is no devil either, this too is just made up in the mind.
When we talk about the different DEVAS, or gods, we are referring to the innumerable qualities of that Supreme Being Who is One Without a Second.
There is one Supreme Being, but there are many other beings too, some conscious and others unconscious. For instance, human beings and other living beings are conscious, whereas non-living objects composed of particles of unconscious matter are unconscious. Space, Fire (energy), Air, Water, and Earth are unconscious.
Some people assign personalities to unconscious objects. For example, some people imagine that a mountain, or a rock, or a river, and so forth, have personalities. In other words, they think these things can be conscious entities. Some astrologers believe that Mars, Venus, Jupiter and other celestial bodies are actually possessed by super conscious beings called demigods. All of this is a fantasy created in the mind of the ignorant.
Certainly, one might make use of analogies in the shape of a story or tale, for the sake of giving a lesson. This is simply poetic, literary, or artistic license, and examples of this exist in every religious and philosophical tradition. When appropriately used, these forms of expression can be helpful in creating a deeper understanding of things. Of course, they can also be misunderstood, and in such cases there should be clarification by those who know better.
Each of us is a self-contained conscious being. By self-contained we mean to say that intrinsically, each and every one of us is absolutely independent in our uniqueness as conscious entities. In other words, at the core of your being you are uncreated, which means you (the Real You) is immortal and immutable (non-modifiable). That core of your being is called ATMAN, or soul-self: absolutely pure consciousness devoid of any and all mental superimpositions.
Though we are self-contained, we take birth in these human bodies (and other bodies capable of supporting life) for the purpose of expressing ourselves. Our life is an art, and each of us is an artist of life. We use our bodies and minds to bring out the best in us, to manifest the core of our being, to share the beautiful qualities of our spirit, in the spirit of unselfishness and divine love.
Embodied in this human body, we are absolutely inter-dependent with all other beings, both sentient and insentient, i.e., conscious and non-conscious forms of existence. As the saying goes, “No man is an island”.
Collectively, we (the entire Universe) are an infinitesimal expression of that Supreme Consciousness. That Supreme Consciousness, which is all-pervading and indivisible, cannot be cut into pieces or made into fractions, because Its nature is that It is All-pervading and Unchangeable; hence, Its all-pervading, indivisible nature cannot be changed into a fractionalized one. That Supreme Nature is 100% present in Its entirety within the core of our being and all around us. That Supreme Soul is the Soul of our soul, the Heart of our heart, the Being of our being, and the Life of our life.
Does this mean that the Supreme Consciousness is also present in a rock, river, or mountain, and so forth? It would appear to be so, but it can only be true if the existence of the object can be proven to be real (eternal). But on the contrary, we can prove the non-eternalness of the object, hence, it is established that that which is eternal cannot be said to be present in that which is non-eternal. In other words, that which is eternal can only be said to be absolutely eternal if the characteristic of eternalness is eternally established. Since a temporary object is by nature temporary, it is impossible for something to be eternally present in it; hence, we must conclude that the Eternal Presence (GOD) is NOT present in temporary objects of nature; otherwise, we will have to say that the Supreme Being, who has the unchangeable quality of being eternally present, is temporarily present (in the temporary object). To say so is a contradiction and is absurd.
The Supreme Being is eternally present in that which is also eternally present; namely, in all of the other conscious beings and in the primordial matter (called PRAKRITI). Of course, by ‘conscious beings’ we mean the innumerable souls in their unmanifested state. Now, when the soul (pure consciousness) is manifested in (for example) a human form (comprised of particles of the primordial matter), the expression of that embodied soul cannot really be said to literally be the manifestation of the soul; nor can the expression of the entire universe (or Multiverse) be said to literally be the manifestation of the Supreme Soul (GOD). For example, when an artist paints, or a musician plays, or a writer writes, the expression is not literally the artist, musician, or writer. You (as consciousness itself) already exist (with or without a body). As an immortal being, you are already eternally manifest [manifest in the sense of being present]. The expression of your eternal presence through the medium of the mind and body is really just a drama, as even the entire Universe is just a drama, a play, a sport (Lila).
When we are playing tennis, or football, or we are acting in a play or drama, we know it is not really real. The part we play in a drama is a real part of the drama, but the drama is still only a drama, and we are not really the part we play in the drama. In the same way, this drama of Life which we think is so real is not really real, it is just a real drama.
As the saying goes, “We are in the world, but we are not of it”. Similarly, we are in the body, but we are not of it. In reality, we are not even in the body, we are just in the drama of being in a body.
The truths expressed in this short discourse can only be fully grasped through the direct experience of meditation. Having experienced them, one must employ this meditative awareness throughout the day in one’s daily activities. Ultimately, we will fully realize the Essence of our being. OM